Different Levels Of Invasiveness Research Articles

Convergently evolved placental villi show multiscale structural adaptations to differential placental invasiveness.

Despite having a single evolutionary origin and conserved function, the mammalian placenta exhibits radical structural diversity. The evolutionary drivers and functional consequences of placental structural diversity are poorly understood. Humans and equids both display treelike placental villi, however these villi evolved independently and exhibit starkly different levels of invasiveness into maternal tissue (i.e. the number of maternal tissue layers between placental tissue and maternal blood). The villi in these species therefore serve as a compelling evolutionary case study to explore whether placentas have developed structural adaptations to respond to the challenge of reduced nutrient availability in less invasive placentas. Here, we use three-dimensional X-ray microfocus computed tomography and electron microscopy to quantitatively evaluate key structures involved in exchange in human and equid placental villi. We find that equid villi have a higher surface area to volume ratio and deeper trophoblastic vessel indentation than human villi. Using illustrative computational models, we propose that these structural adaptations have evolved in equids to boost nutrient transfer to compensate for reduced invasiveness into maternal tissue. We discuss these findings in relation to the 'maternal-fetal conflict hypothesis' of placental evolution.

A review of hair removal modalities in pediatric patients: Ethical and clinical considerations.

Unwanted hair is a common concern among patients presenting to pediatric dermatology clinics, and parents and patients alike inquire about the safety of methods employed for elective removal. Various methods of hair removal exist with different levels of invasiveness and permanence, from simple mechanical depilation to light-based therapies. All methods of hair removal appear to be safe and generally well tolerated in children, and there are no age restrictions to any modality. In this review, we aim to address the available literature on the safety and efficacy of hair removal modalities in pediatric patients and propose guidance on how to manage requests for at-home and in-office therapies within an ethical framework.

Glioblastoma multiforme influence on the elemental homeostasis of the distant organs: the results of inter-comparison study carried out with TXRF method

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor which invades the nearby brain tissue but generally does not spread to the distant organs. Nonetheless, if untreated, GBM can result in patient death in time even less than few months from the diagnosis. The influence of the tumor progress on organs other than brain is obvious but still not well described. Therefore, we examined the elemental abnormalities appearing in selected body organs (kidney, heart, spleen, lung) in two rat models of GBM. The animals used for the study were subjected to the implantation of human GBM cell lines (U87MG and T98G) characterized by different levels of invasiveness. The elemental analysis of digested organ samples was carried out using the total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) method, independently, in three European laboratories utilizing various commercially available TXRF spectrometers. The comparison of the data obtained for animals subjected to T98G and U87MG cells implantation showed a number of elemental anomalies in the examined organs. What is more, the abnormalities were found for rats even if neoplastic tumor did not develop in their brains. The most of alterations for both experimental groups were noted in the spleen and lungs, with the direction of the found element changes in these organs being the opposite. The observed disorders of element homeostasis may result from many processes occurring in the animal body as a result of implantation of cancer cells or the development of GBM, including inflammation, anemia of chronic disease or changes in iron metabolism. Tumor induced changes in organ elemental composition detected in cooperating laboratories were usually in a good agreement. In case of elements with higher atomic numbers (Fe, Cu, Zn and Se), 88% of the results were classified as fully compliant. Some discrepancies between the laboratories were found for lighter elements (P, S, K and Ca). However, also in this case, the obtained results fulfilled the requirements of full (the results from three laboratories were in agreement) or partial agreement (the results from two laboratories were in agreement).

Standardising field‐based assessment of invasion degree: A case study in two habitats of Reunion Island

Abstract Biological invasions represent one of the major threats to biodiversity conservation, especially in island ecosystems. Field‐based assessments of the invasion degree are required for managing and monitoring invaded habitats but there is no unifying measure available in the literature. Here, we developed a standardised method for quantifying invasion degree based on four metrics: alien and native species cover, alien species richness, the occurrence frequency of alien species and invasion level, and demonstrated its use in two contrasted habitats of Reunion Island. This rapid survey quantified relative abundance and diversity of alien plant species among three vegetation strata (herbaceous, shrub and tree) in a systematic sampling. In lowland tropical forest, it took 40 person days to survey 150 ha (344 plots), and 52 person days in subalpine vegetation to survey 125 ha (304 plots). Our results showed that the herbaceous stratum was the most invaded in terms of invasion level; more than 45% in lowland tropical forest and almost 55% in subalpine vegetation. Based on cluster analysis and kriging, we mapped three different levels of invasion highlighting potential invasion fronts. We found that it was important to differentiate invasion degree per vegetation strata as mean alien cover was significantly different between strata at each site. This method is suitable for the majority of protected areas where fine‐scale assessment is required to characterise the spatial pattern of plant invasions, monitor invasive species and identify invasion foci to control or populations of emerging species to eradicate.

Invasions eliminate the legacy effects of substrate history on microbial nitrogen cycling

AbstractChanges in substrate quality driven by climate, land use, or other forms of global change may represent a strong selective force on microbial communities. Invasion of new taxa into a community through dispersal, evolution, or recolonization could impact the outcome of this environmental selection. Here, we simulated substrate change with a trait‐based model of microbial litter decomposition (DEMENTpy) to assess the legacy effects of past substrate quality and the impact of selection by a new substrate on community decomposition activity. Simulations were run with different levels of invasion, including invasion from communities long‐adapted to the new substrate. Legacy effects were evident with substrate change for native communities differing in composition. Protein was the only substrate that exerted a strong enough selective force to affect community composition. Legacy effects disappeared when invaders came from substrates similar to the new substrate. Together, our simulations demonstrate that substrate quality changes associated with global change can lead to legacy effects on substrate degradation. In decomposing plant litter, such legacy effects can occur if substrate inputs shift to higher protein content and if invasion is low.

Measuring body temperature in birds - the effects of sensor type and placement on estimated temperature and metabolic rate.

Several methods are routinely used to measure avian body temperature, but different methods vary in invasiveness. This may cause stress-induced increases in temperature and/or metabolic rate and, hence, overestimation of both parameters. Choosing an adequate temperature measurement method is therefore key to accurately characterizing an animal's thermal and metabolic phenotype. Using great tits (Parus major) and four common methods with different levels of invasiveness (intraperitoneal, cloacal, subcutaneous, cutaneous), we evaluated the preciseness of body temperature measurements and effects on resting metabolic rate (RMR) over a 40°C range of ambient temperatures. None of the methods caused overestimation or underestimation of RMR compared with un-instrumented birds, and body or skin temperature estimates did not differ between methods in thermoneutrality. However, skin temperature was lower compared with all other methods below thermoneutrality. These results provide empirical guidance for future research that aims to measure body temperature and metabolic rate in small bird models.

NKX3.1 Expression Contributes to Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Prostate Cancer Cells.

Studies demonstrate that inflammation synergizes with high-grade aggressive prostate tumor development and ultimately metastatic spread, in which a lot of work has been done in recent years. However, the clear mechanism of inflammation inciting prostate cancer remains largely uncharacterized. Our previous study has shown that the conditioned media (CM)-mediated LNCaP cell migration is partially correlated with the loss of expression of the tumor suppressor NKX3.1. Here, we continue to investigate the inflammation-mediated migration of prostate cancer cells, and the role of NKX3.1 in this process to gain insights into cell migration-related changes comprehensively. Earlier, the model of inflammation in the tumor microenvironment have been optimized by our research group; here, we continue to investigate the time-dependent effect of CM exposure together with NKX3.1 changes, in which we observed that these changes play important roles in gaining heterogeneous epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype. Hence, this is an important parameter of tumor progression; we depleted NKX3.1 expression using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and examined the migrating cell clusters after exposure to inflammatory cytokines. We found that the migrated cells clearly demonstrate reversible loss of E-cadherin expression, which is consistent with subsequent vimentin expression alterations in comparison to control cells. Moreover, the data suggest that the AR-mediated transcriptional program also contributes to mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) in prostate cancer progression. Furthermore, the quantitative proteomic analysis showed that migrated subpopulations from the same cell line presented different phenotypes in which the proteins overexpressed are involved in cell metabolism and RNA processing. According to KEGG pathway analysis, the ABC transporters were found to be the most significant. Thus, the dynamic process of cellular migration favors diverse genetic compositions under changing tumor microenvironments. The different levels of invasiveness are supported by shifting the cells in between these EMT and MET phenotypes.

The prognostic impacts of frailty status on clinical and patient-related outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery or valvular surgeries/procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Frailty is emerging as an important prognostic indicator for patients undergoing cardiac surgeries or procedures. Purposes We sought to evaluate the prognostic and differential impacts of frailty on patients undergoing coronary artery or valvular surgical procedures of different levels of invasiveness, as well as to explore the differential predictability of various frailty measurement models. Methods Nine databases were searched for prospective cohort studies that have adopted validated measure(s) of frailty and reported clinical, healthcare service utilisation, or patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery or valvular surgeries/procedures. Meta-analysis was conducted using random-effects model. Results Sixty-two articles were included (N = 16,679). Frailty significantly predicted mortality (short-term [≤ 30 days]: odds ratio [OR]: 2.33, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28–4.26; mid-term [1 year]: OR: 3.93, 95% CI: 2.65–5.83; long-term [>1 year]: HR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.60–3.11), postoperative complications (ORs: 2.54–3.57), discharge to care facilities (OR: 5.52, 95% CI: 3.84–7.94), hospital readmissions (OR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.15–3.50), and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL; SMD: −0.74, 95% CI: −1.30 to −0.18) (Figure 1 and 2). Subgroup analyses showed that frailty exerted a greater impact on short-term mortality in patients undergoing open-heart surgeries than those receiving transcatheter procedures (Figure 1A), but no significant difference was observed for mid- and long-term mortality between these two groups of patients (Figure 1B and C). Multidimensional and physical-aspect-focused frailty measurements equally predicted mortality and complications, but multidimensional measurements were more predictive of hospital readmissions than physical-aspect-focused measurements (Figure 2B). Conclusion Frailty was predictive of postoperative mortality, complications, increased healthcare service utilisation, and reduced HRQoL. The impact of frailty on short-term mortality was more prominent in patients undergoing open-heart surgeries than those receiving transcatheter procedures. Multidimensional measures of frailty enhanced prognostic risk estimation, especially for hospital readmissions, demonstrating a need to incorporate a formal frailty assessment into routine preoperative risk evaluation to inform therapeutic decision-making.

The prognostic impacts of frailty on clinical and patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery or valvular surgeries/procedures: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Frailty is emerging as an important prognostic indicator for patients undergoing cardiac surgeries/procedures. We sought to evaluate the prognostic and differential impacts of frailty on patients undergoing coronary artery or valvular surgical procedures of different levels of invasiveness, and to explore the differential predictability of various frailty measurement models. Eight databases were searched for prospective cohort studies that have adopted validated measure(s) of frailty and reported clinical, healthcare service utilization, or patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery or valvular surgeries/procedures. Sixty-two articles were included (N=16,679). Frailty significantly predicted mortality (short-term [≤ 30 days]: odds ratio [OR]: 2.33, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-4.26; midterm [6 months to 1 year]: OR: 3.93, 95%CI: 2.65-5.83; long-term [>1 year]: HR: 2.23, 95%CI: 1.60-3.11), postoperative complications (ORs: 2.54-3.57), discharge to care facilities (OR: 5.52, 95%CI: 3.84-7.94), hospital readmission (OR: 2.00, 95%CI: 1.15-3.50), and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL; standardized mean difference: -0.74, 95%CI: -1.30 to -0.18). Subgroup analyses showed that frailty exerted a greater impact on short-term mortality in patients undergoing open-heart surgeries than those receiving transcatheter procedures. Multidimensional and physical-aspect-focused frailty measurements performed equally in predicting mortality, but multidimensional measurements were more predictive of hospital readmission than physical-aspect-focused measurements. Frailty was predictive of postoperative mortality, complications, increased healthcare service utilization, and reduced HRQoL. The impact of frailty on short-term mortality was more prominent in patients undergoing open-heart surgeries than those receiving transcatheter procedures. Multidimensional measures of frailty enhanced prognostic risk estimation, especially for hospital readmission.

Phenotypic Plasticity Drives the Successful Expansion of the Invasive Plant Pedicularis kansuensis in Bayanbulak, China

To better understand the phenotypic plasticity of the highly invasive native weed, Pedicularis kansuensis, we investigated and compared phenotypes (morphology, biomass, and nutrient composition) at different levels of invasion (low: 0 < cover ≤ 30%; medium: 30% < cover ≤ 70%; and high: cover > 70%). With the increase in invasion level, the plasticity of inflorescence length, single-leaf thickness, and specific leaf area increased, while the plasticity of single-leaf area and crown width decreased. During the invasion process, we observed significant density-dependent effects, including changed morphological characteristics, increased total aboveground biomass, and decreased plant height, inflorescence length, root length, crown width, single-leaf area, structure biomass of structures (root, stem, inflorescence), and individual biomass (p < 0.05). During the reproductive period of P. kansuensis, the resource allocation (C, N, and P content, total biomass, biomass allocation) to inflorescence was significantly higher than to root and stem, while the elemental ratios (C:N, C:P, N:P) of inflorescences were significantly lower than those of roots and stems (p < 0.05). When the invasion level increased, the ratio of inflorescence C:N and biomass allocation to roots increased significantly; conversely, inflorescence N and biomass allocation to inflorescences and stems decreased significantly (p < 0.05). This led to a decrease in resource allocation to aboveground parts and more resources allocated to the roots, significantly increasing the root-to-shoot ratio (p < 0.05). Based on the phenotypic differences among different invasion levels, we suggest that P. kansuensis adapted to a competitive environment by regulating morphology, biomass, and nutrient allocation, thereby enhancing the potential of invasion and spread.

An Integrated Approach to Improve Seismic and Energetic Behaviour of RC Framed Buildings Using Timber Panels

In the present paper, an integrated intervention system applicable to concrete-framed buildings is presented. The purpose of the intervention is to improve both the seismic and the energetic behaviour of such buildings using cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. Two alternative intervention configurations with different levels of invasiveness are described. Considering a double-wythe masonry-infilled frame, the most invasive configuration consists in the replacement of the external masonry wythe with the CLT panel, while the least invasive configuration consists in the arrangement of the CLT panel from the outside without removing the wythes. The technical details and implementation procedures were studied, considering functionality and disturbance to occupants. An isolated one-storey-one-bay frame was used as a reference for the seismic and thermal analyses. Subsequently, the two intervention configurations were applied to a case-study building by identifying two alternative intervention strategies. The obtained results showed that the proposed integrated intervention approach can significantly reduce both the seismic vulnerability and the energy consumption of concrete buildings.

Integrated Seismic and Energy Retrofit Interventions on a URM Masonry Building: The Case Study of the Former Courthouse in Fabriano

Following the 2016 central Italy earthquakes, the high seismic vulnerability of existing buildings is once again at the center of the debate. Indeed, the majority of the Italian building stock (around 60%) was built before adopting the first seismic provisions (1974) and in a territory entirely characterized by medium to high levels of seismic hazard. On the other hand, the first provisions addressing thermal performance criteria were introduced in 1976 but with limited impact. A consistent reduction in energy consumption was further achieved in 1991, when even more buildings were erected. As a consequence, the Italian building stock is characterized by reduced seismic capacity and poor energy efficiency and, to optimize the available resources, combined retrofit interventions approaches are required. In this context, a synergic strategy for the seismic and energy retrofit of a unreinforced masonry (URM) building was proposed. The former Courthouse in Fabriano (Ancona, Marche), a strategic, three-story, unreinforced masonry building in the network of permanent monitoring systems of the Italian Department of Civil Protection, was selected as a case study. The overall effectiveness of various solutions of combined structural refurbishment and energy retrofit interventions, having different levels of invasiveness on the building, was assessed. In addition, a common methodology based on the expected annual losses allowed evaluating the financial feasibility of the proposed integrated interventions and estimating the changes in the return of the retrofitting investment in various seismic and climate zones. The results also show how the payback period could be significantly reduced by incentives and regulatory frameworks that currently favour the execution of integrated interventions.

The impacts of invasive trees on the structure and composition of tropical forests show some consistent patterns but many are context dependent

Tropical forests harbour significant proportion of global biodiversity. Recent studies are, however, reporting an increase in plant invasion and its effect on these forests. We surveyed three forest reserves in Ghana to determine how differences in invasion levels influence plant community structure. Species diversity and species richness, particularly pioneer and non-pioneer light demanders, decrease with increasing invasion level. There was no consistent pattern regarding the impact of different levels of invasion on the diversity of the different tree functional groups. Stand density of native trees were the same in two of the reserves whilst the basal area of the highly invaded sites was higher than that of the lightly invaded sites in two of the three reserves. Generally, while there are some patterns in diversity indices and functional groups that are broadly maintained across the three reserves, site-specificity was also important, with the direction of impact influenced by the type of species and habitats. The study adds to the growing body of evidence that ecological impacts of invasive species do not always increase proportionally with invader density but are complex and context-dependent. It also provides insights into silviculture and other forest management decision-making and interventions, with respect to invasive tree species in forest reserves.

Use of relative CT values to evaluate the invasiveness of pulmonary subsolid nodules in patients with emphysema.

Lung cancer is a major cause of death, and adenocarcinoma is the most common histologic subtype. Precise diagnosis and treatment of invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) can substantially improve the survival of patients. However, early-stage adenocarcinomas frequently appear as subsolid nodules (SSN) on computed tomography (CT), and the optimal cut-off CT value for differentiating the invasiveness of SSNs in emphysematous patients is unclear. High-resolution CT targeted scans of 187 pulmonary SSNs in 175 patients with emphysema as confirmed by surgery and histology were retrospectively reviewed. The mean CT value, the relative CT (rCT) values of 1 (nodule CT value - lung CT value), and 2 (nodule CT value/lung CT value), and the size of the SSNs were measured and calculated. The differentiating performance of the CT values between pre-invasive and invasive tumors was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Significant differences were found in the rCT values of 1 and 2 among pure ground-glass nodules (GGNs) with different levels of invasiveness, in the rCT values of 1 and 2 for the ground-glass component (GGC) and the mean CT value of the solid component (SC) of part-solid nodules (PSNs) between minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) and IAC (all P<<0.05). The size was significantly different among pure GGNs with different invasiveness (P<0.05). The cut-off rCT values of 1, 2 and nodule size for differentiating between pre-invasive and invasive pure GGNs were 293.82 [sensitivity 58.0%, specificity 94.7%; area under the curve (AUC) 0.783], 0.68 (sensitivity 89.5%, specificity 58.0%, AUC 0.742) and 1.10 cm (sensitivity 74.0%, specificity 79.0%, AUC 0.796), respectively. The AUCs of combining rCT values 1 and 2 with the size of nodule were 0.795 (sensitivity 62.5%, specificity 89.5%) and 0.845 (sensitivity 71.6%, specificity 89.5%) respectively. There were no significant differences in the mean CT values between pure GGNs with different levels of invasiveness and between the GGC of PSNs of MIA and IAC. In patients with emphysema, the rCT values are more useful than the mean CT values for differentiating between SSNs with different invasiveness and can be valuable for patient management.

Impact of invasive alien plant species on aquatic biodiversity of Koshi Tappu Wetlands : Ramsar Site, Nepal

Koshi Tappu Wetlands play a significant role in the conservation of many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna. However, this wetland is threatened by several natural and anthropogenic stressors; among others, invasion by invasive species is the most serious problem. The objective of this study was to prepare an inventory list of wetlands, categorize the wetlands based on the coverage of alien species, identify the problematic aquatic invasive plant species, and assess their impact on water quality and aquatic biodiversity (fish and macroinvertebrates). This study was conducted in winter and spring seasons of 2018. Composite water samples were collected from the wetlands with different covers of invasive species. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected using hand net of 500µm mesh following the habitat specific sampling approach, and fishes were sampled using Cast Net. The analysis of water quality parameters, macroinvertebrates and fishes were performed for different levels of invasion. Altogether, 66 wetlands were documented in the Buffer Zone located in the east of eastern embankment of the KTWR. Out of the total 66 wetlands, 33.33% were found to be non-invaded while 66.67% were found to be invaded by the invasive macrophytes. The invaded wetlands were further subdivided into abundant 'A' (&gt;75% coverage), common 'C' (50-75% coverage) frequent 'F' (25-50%coverage), occasional 'O' (5-25% coverage), and rare 'R' (1-5% coverage) which were found to have occupied 19.69%, 16.67%, 12.12%, 13.63% and 4.50%, respectively, of the invaded wetlands (66.61%). The most problematic invasive species were found to be Eichhornia crassipes and Ipomoea carnea. The dissolved oxygen (DO) decreased while the total alkalinity and free CO2 increased significantly with the increased coverage of invasive macrophytes. The macroinvertebrate diversity was observed high in common and abundant coverage, but the fish diversity was high in the frequent coverage of invasive species. The taxa compositions shifted from “Decapoda” and “Ephemeroptera” to “Odonata” and “Mollusca” in none to abundant coverage of invasive species. The findings of this research are expected to help wetland managers and related stakeholders to understand the level of impact of different coverage of invasive species on wetlands, help to develop the conservation strategy and action plans to mitigate the spread of these invasive species, and wise use of wetlands.

Effects of connective tissue growth factor on prostate cancer bone metastasis and osteoblast differentiation.

Previous studies have demonstrated that connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is expressed at increased levels in prostate cancer bone metastasis mouse models and patients with prostate cancer which metastasizes to the bone; however, the underlying molecular mechanism(s) remain unknown. The present study investigated the function of CTGF in osteoblast differentiation and its effect on prostate cancer bone metastasis by analyzing CTGF gene expression and transcription at different levels of invasion, metastasis of prostate cancer cells, and the influence of CTGF on proliferation and xenotransplantation. A mouse model demonstrating bone metastasis was used to investigate the function(s) of CTGF in bone metastasis and osteoblast differentiation. Results demonstrated that CTGF expression was increased in association with high bone metastasis in prostate cancer cells, and its expression was significantly decreased in whole cell lysates. CTGF expression in prostate cancer cells with high levels of bone metastasis was increased 1.9-fold compared with prostate cancer cells with low levels of bone metastasis. The expression of CTGF in mesenchymal cells was markedly increased compared with epithelial cells. Results indicated that the increased expression of CTGF does not affect the proliferation of tumor cells and possesses no influence on tumor volume. Control and CTGF plasmids were transfected into RM1 cells and led to 4 and 17% bone lesions, respectively. Increased expression of CTGF significantly enlarged the tumor area in the bone metastatic position compared with the control. Positive areas of alkaline phosphatase were significantly decreased as the concentration of CTGF increased. The results of the present study demonstrated that CTGF promotes prostate carcinoma to metastasize in the bone by dysregulating osteoblast differentiation.

Flavonoid silybin improves the response to radiotherapy in invasive bladder cancer

Conservative treatment for invasive bladder cancer (BC) involves a complete transurethral tumor resection combined with chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT). The major obstacles of chemo-radiotherapy are the addition of the toxicities of RT and CT, and the recurrence due to RT and CT resistances. The flavonoid Silybin (Sb) inhibits pathways involved in cell survival and resistance mechanisms, therefore the purpose of this paper was to study in vitro and in vivo, the ability of Sb to improve the response to RT, in two murine BC cell lines, with different levels of invasiveness, placing emphasis on radio-sensitivity, and pathways involved in radio-resistance and survival. In vitro, Sb radio-sensitized murine invasive cells through the inhibition of RT-induced NF-κB and PI3K pathways, and the increase of oxidative stress, while non-invasive cells did not show to be sensitized. In vivo, Sb improved RT-response and overall survival in invasive murine tumors. As Sb is already being tested in clinical trials for other urological cancers and it improves RT-response in invasive BC, these results could have translational relevance, supporting further research.

Terrein inhibits migration of human breast cancer cells via inhibition of the Rho and Rac signaling pathways.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Progression and aggressiveness of breast cancer is usually associated with its migration and invasion abilities. Recently, natural products with potential anticancer activity have become attractive candidates for alternative treatment of cancer. A fungal metabolite, terrein, isolated from the Aspergillus terreus has been revealed to exhibit selective anticancer activity; although this molecule has a variety of biological activities. The inhibitory effect on cell proliferation in hepatoma, keratinocytes, and lung cancer cells was due to cell cycle arrest without induction of apoptosis. In contrast, its effects on cervical and breast cancer cells were mediated through activation of the apoptotic process. However, the effect of terrein on cell migration and invasion has not been explored. In the present study we analyzed the molecular effects of terrein on cell adhesion, cell migration, and cell invasion using two breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, which exhibit different levels of invasiveness. Terrein induced apoptosis in both breast cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, at a non-toxic concentration terrein exhibited a weak inhibition of cell adhesion, using either fibronectin or typeIV collagen as substrates. Notably, terrein significantly inhibited both the migration and invasion abilities of MDA-MB-231 cells at the same non-toxic concentration. A marked decrease in MMP-2 and MMP-9 transcripts, as evaluated by real-time PCR, confirmed the anti-invasion effect of terrein at the transcriptional level. Western blot analyses revealed that terrein treatment suppressed RhoB expression and reduced Rac1 phosphorylation, leading to Rho GTPase inhibition. In addition, terrein-treated MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells both displayed a scattered pattern of migration, suggesting that the suppression of RhoB and Rac1 disturbed the collective migration processes of breast cancer cells.

Comparing Measures of Active and Passive Field Spread between non-, partially, and fully invasive human brain recordings

Event Abstract Back to Event Comparing Measures of Active and Passive Field Spread between non-, partially, and fully invasive human brain recordings Mansoureh Fahimi Hnazaee1*, Benjamin Wittevrongel1, Evelien Carrette2, Ine Dauwe2, Alfred Meurs2, Paul Boon2, Dirk Van Roost2 and Marc Van Hulle1 1 Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium 2 Ghent University Hospital, Belgium BACKGROUND Precise details of the propagation of neural activity on remote cortical areas are still poorly understood; this propagation refers to both electric diffusion as a result of physiological propagation of action potentials along axons (active spread) and the passive spread of the electric field over the cortical surface, also referred to as field spread, or as more commonly known, electrical volume conduction. Principles of volume conduction is of significant interest for researchers interested in solving the M/EEG inverse problem and increasing the accuracy of source localization. Therefore we need measures that can separate instantaneous signal propagation from genuine causal and functional interactions, such as methods that can reveal the temporal delay. However, no study has yet attempted to compare the influence of volume conduction for different levels of invasiveness. In this study, by using measures of phase-based and amplitude based correlations both on actual data and reconstructed sources obtained from the data for each recording modality, we try to quantify the level of volume conduction, comparing between subcortical, cortical, and scalp recordings. METHODS We recorded 3 minutes of resting state (with eyes fixating) and a rich stimuli task in 5 patients (2 female and 3 male patients) from simultaneously implanted subdural grids, depth electrodes, and scalp EEG. Areas of subdural recording were spread over left and right temporal and frontal cortex, and depth electrodes were implanted in left and/or right hippocampus in 4 patients and left insula in 1 patient. The data is decomposed into traditional frequency bands using Morlet wavelet function. Phase-based connectivity measures were used to quantify the interactions include Phase Locking Value (PLV), and imaginary part of Phase Locking Value (iPLV) whereas for Amplitude-based we used Spearman correlation coefficient. The connectivity analysis is done on both the data and on the estimated sources obtained using Independent Components Analysis (ICA). The independent sources were estimated with statistical and algorithmic reliability with the help of bootstrapping and random initialization using the Icasso software package. The calculated measures from both the original data and on the estimated independent sources are then analyzed statistically using ANOVA. CONCLUSION Our study provides a comprehensive account of the spatial spread between SEEG, ECoG and EEG. As can be expected, IPLV consistently decreases for higher frequency bands. Additionally, the lower PLV and Spearman correlation for ECoG compared to SEEG can probably be attributed to the larger average distances (larger spatial coverage) spanned by ECoG. Using ICA analysis on partially invasive and fully invasive brain recording we consistently found between 4 and 7 cortical generators, which is in accordance with previous studies on functional networks during resting state. Similar overall trends in connectivity can be seen for both raw data and reconstructed sources, however PLV and Spearman are now higher for SEEG compared to ECoG, which is likely attributed to a higher number of cortical generators discovered from ECoG. FUTURE WORK - Current results show the analysis of a single subject, further analysis would include normalizing and pooling results from all subjects in order to investigate connectivity as a function of anatomical location. When pooling results we can also account for inter-electrode distances and control these for modalities. - It has been shown that correlations are more variable and on average higher during rest than when the patient is engaged in a listening task. In this study data has been recorded from the same patients engaged during a rich stimuli task (an audio-visual movie to ensure engagement of multi-sensory and higher-level cognitive functions). A future step would be to compare task and non-task connectivity measures.

Associations between an Invasive Plant (Taeniatherum caput-medusae, Medusahead) and Soil Microbial Communities.

Understanding plant-microbe relationships can be important for developing management strategies for invasive plants, particularly when these relationships interact with underlying variables, such as habitat type and seedbank density, to mediate control efforts. In a field study located in California, USA, we investigated how soil microbial communities differ across the invasion front of Taeniatherum caput-medusae (medusahead), an annual grass that has rapidly invaded most of the western USA. Plots were installed in habitats where medusahead invasion is typically successful (open grassland) and typically not successful (oak woodland). Medusahead was seeded into plots at a range of densities (from 0–50,000 seeds/m2) to simulate different levels of invasion. We found that bacterial and fungal soil community composition were significantly different between oak woodland and open grassland habitats. Specifically, ectomycorrhizal fungi were more abundant in oak woodlands while arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant pathogens were more abundant in open grasslands. We did not find a direct effect of medusahead density on soil microbial communities across the simulated invasion front two seasons after medusahead were seeded into plots. Our results suggest that future medusahead management initiatives might consider plant-microbe interactions.